Nothing is sad, everything is as usual

Ayelet Razin Beit-Or writes an opinion column about the murder of five women in one month in Israel, and since the beginning of 2026, 17 women have been murdered in the context of domestic violence. She criticizes the social routine and the lack of sufficient budgeting for prevention, and calls for including the struggle in coalition agreements.

Ayelet Razin Beit-Or, an expert in promoting gender equality and former director of the Authority for the Advancement of Women's Status, writes an opinion column about the murder of women in Israel. She opens with a quote from Eviatar Banai's 1997 song, "Nothing is sad, everything is as usual," and compares it to the current reality. According to her, yesterday the fifth woman was murdered within one month, and since the beginning of 2026, 17 women have been murdered in the context of domestic violence. The writer criticizes the social routine where news continues to flow and politicians bicker, while women are being murdered. She cites a report by the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of Women's Status, chaired by MK Meirav Cohen, which shows underfunding of the national program to combat domestic violence, with only 3.6% of expenditure allocated to prevention. The writer calls for including the fight against violence against women in coalition agreements, with full funding of the national program amounting to 250 million shekels per year, transferring responsibility to the senior government level, establishing a national information system, strengthening immediate protection for threatened women, and investing in prevention and treatment. She emphasizes that Israel should commit to the Istanbul Convention. The column concludes with a call to coalition negotiation teams to think about the next woman who can still be saved.